Human blood samples are routinely collected by inserting a needle into a vein and drawing the blood through the needle into a collection vessel. This procedure is currently performed with a needle cannula having two sharp ends, mounting the needle in a generally cup-shaped holder, and placing a pre-evacuated collection tube into the holder so that the proximal needle end pierces the flexible rubber stopper of the tube. As soon as the proximal needle end emerges into the tube the vacuum therein draws blood from the vein, through the needle cannula into the tube. When sufficient blood has been collected the pre-evacuated tube is withdrawn from the needle. If necessary, one or more additional collection tubes are inserted in the holder and pierced by the needle cannual. After the desired number of samples has been collected in this manner the needle is withdrawn from the vein and is disposed of.
This disposal process has the drawback that the used cannula must be considered to be biologically contaminated. Thus, if the person manipulating the contaminated needle accidentally pierces his or her skin with it, infectious diseases may be transmitted. This has become a serious concern since the isolation of the AIDS virus which can and, in fact, has been communicated in this manner. To lessen the likelihood of such contamination, the assignee of this application has developed a disposable blood collection tube holder which forms the subject matter of a copending patent application U.S. Ser. No. 141,019. Briefly, such a holder distinguishes itself from prior art in that it includes a typically cylindrical, outer protective tube which exposes the needle cannula while blood is drawn and is then axially extended over and around the needle cannula to encapsulate it and make it highly unlikely to come into accidental contact with the distal needle tip. Accidental strikes with used needle cannula are thereby prevented. Protective blood collection tube holders of this type are single use devices which are discarded after use.
A medical laboratory may use several hundred of such disposable blood collection tube holders per day. After they have been used they constitute a potentially hazardous contaminated garbage volume which must be disposed of. Due to the relatively large number of single use holders used by such labs and hospitals on a daily basis, this constitutes a relatively large volume of waste. Those used holders which have come in contact with contaminated blood additionally constitute a biological hazard until they are safely disposed of, e.g., incinerated. Although medical laboratories are required to maintain special receptacles for hazardous waste, the receptacles are often at a location remote from where the holder is actually used, i.e., where blood is being drawn. Thus, the technician must either carry the contaminated holder to the receptacle, which in and of itself constitutes an additional hazard, or the holders are improperly disposed of, e.g., by tossing them into the closest waste paper basket. This, in turn, may lead to a further improper handling and disposal of the holder and again constitutes a hazard.
Further, the introduction of disposable holders creates a significant amount of additional contaminated waste volume. In the past a single holder was reused (with fresh needles) as many as two hundred times. Thus, the disposable holder may cause an increase in the accumulating waste volume of as much as two hundred times over what it was in the past. If this increased volume of holders is randomly placed into receptacles, they occupy so much volume that this may inhibit the wide spread use of disposable holders. It is a purpose of the present invention to minimize the volume of this additional waste to thereby promote the orderly and convenient use of such disposable blood collection tube holders.